Animal Planet = hypocritical

[MCR_Rox]

I put this here in case of heating.

I saw a commercial where a guy from their ROAR program was trying to persuade spay & neutering and then saw that Animal Planet was having a dog show or something! This is not the first time they've been unsatisfactory.

A while ago, on their Pet Star show, a girl had 2 "singing ( or crying") guinea pigs. She was hurting them to make them make noise. The judges say that she did well. I'm pretty sure this is on Guinea Lynx.

[AnimalFarm2006]

i saw that one! That was horrible! Poor guinea pig!

[catzeye21138]

Didn't that girl end up winning the competition?

And I think maybe their point of view on spaying and neutering was for pet dogs and cats, so that if it ran away it wouldn't impregnate any other animal or get pregnant. But they support breeders. Well, at least PET STORES don't sell dogs.

[guineapigfan9000]

What do you mean, pet stores don't sell dogs?
And yes, I quite agree that that "singing" sound is a pained alarm.

[MissCin]

I noticed that too.
I've never seen the "singing" guinea pigs, I've heard alot of people talk about it.

[cookie_gal]

At least they are promoting spaying but they cetainly need to get their standards up in other areas.

I only tend to stick to Animal Cops Miami etc on this channel as I feel a lot of it is wrong in terms of some program messages like above mentioned.

[Alusdra]

You like Animal Cops Miami? Between the 15 minutes of shots of half naked girls and that irritating "Trapper Todd Harwick"- I avoid Miami like the plague. The other versions are good, though.

I didn't see the PetStar- it's a pretty bad show, anyway. They always give the prize to some idiot with a dog that can fetch when someone worked really hard to get a chicken to ride a scooter or something. I'm sitting there shaking my head whenever I do watch it for the absolute lack of appreciation for how hard it is to train some animals...

As for supporting breeders and adoption- I wouldn't say that Animal Planet is particularly hypocritical. They are just less hardline than this site. Many people feel that breeding for the betterment of the breed is not only ok, but good, and that any animal not of show quality should be spuetered. I don't think it is an unreasonable stance. Imagine if all the people who weren't showing their animals (who have to be in absolute best health and grooming to win) had to spay/neuter. No more backyard breeding. No more puppy mills. Wasn't there an article someone posted a while back about how puppy mills bred 100s of thousands of animals a year in one state? I don't think it is people who are showing that are the main culprit, here, though they may exacerbate the problem by fighting mandatory spay/neuter legislation.

Here's the AKC stance on breeding, which seems pretty reasonable for a breeding ring. They could discourage it a bit more strongly, but come on- they're a breeder association:

Breed Responsibly

1. Breed To Improve
   Breeding should only be done for the advancement of the breed...
2. Spay or Neuter
   If you do not plan to show your dog in AKC Conformation events, you should have it spayed or neutered. Spaying or neutering will prevent accidental breedings and may even prolong your dog's life. Spayed or neutered dogs can participate in AKC Obedience, Agility, Tracking and most Performance Events.
3. Contain Bitches in Heat
   ...
4. Perform Genetic Screening
   If you plan to breed your dog, it is very important to test for health and disease. Perform all available tests to rule out the possibility of passing on a genetic defect.

Taken from https://www.akc.org/public_education..._dog_owner.cfm with some editing.

It does jive pretty well with the Cavy Spirit definition of a "Responsible Breeder"

[FONT=arial, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana]Those people who strive to meet and exceed the challenge of being a good breeder realize they are moving towards a very difficult, but attainable goal. That goal is the unsurpassed health and functional structure of a particular breed type so that all caring pet owners may enjoy long and happy lives with their chosen dependants. Responsible breeders have obligations not only to the animals, but to all other people who care for animals now and in the future.[/FONT][/FONT]

Taken from http://www.cavyspirit.com/responsiblebreeder.htm

Now, I know many if not all of the people on this forum think that there is no such thing as a "good" breeder, and I might even agree with you for the most part- there is definitely a really "bad" way to go about it (BB, mills, etc.) and a much "better" way to go about it (striving to improve the breed and keeping all animals up to show standards).

Animal Planet shows (and even commercials) advocate the "responsible breeder" scenario, as well as responsible ownership. The Breed All About It bloodhound special yesterday basically said not to get one unless you want to track with them, for example. And there is no "dominance" training ala Cesar- only Good Dog U, Barking Mad and similar shows- all behavioral redirection/enrichment and positive training methods. And they have commercials all the time about the plight of shelter animals. Even ones made by the AKC.

So that's why I feel that Animal Planet isn't being hypocritical. They are denouncing all irresponsible breeding, advocating adoption, and promoting high standards for breeding, advocating education of pet owners and positive reinforcement training. Considering that they are a huge TV station that has to survive internationally, really I think that is about as far as they are going to go towards being pro-rescue/adoption only and anti-breeding.

I doubt very much that Animal Planet will ever be anti-breeding. That's who pays the bills. Rescues certainly aren't able to afford it. Until the whole country is very against all breeding (unlikely), then there will be responsible breeding advocated on mainstream channels such as Animal Planet.

[Susan9608]

I don't think it is people who are showing that are the main culprit, here,

They surely exacerbate the problem because they continue breeding more and more animals, looking for that *perfect* show specimen. Backyard breeders are bad, but these "professional" breeders are almost worse, in my opinion, because they ought to know better. They have to know how many purebred animals end up in shelters and theyh ave to know how many animals there are without homes. But they continue to breed. It doesn't matter *why* they are breeding - the fact is that they continue to purposely create more animals in an already saturated environment. They have to know that not all of the animals they create, even if they are spayed/neutered, are going to end up in responsible homes. To me, that makes them extremely irresponsible and some what callous and selfish. They aren't breeding to better the breed - that's ridiculous - they're breeding for their own pleasure and enjoyment.

[Mommy Of One]

I only watch the program for animal cops. I havn't seen the singing guinea pigs but have heard about it. I don't like Pet Star. I just don't like the idea of animals being 'shown' like that. Also, this makes some people think, I want my dog/cat/horse/whatever to do that and if they don't, they abuse there animal.Or people think their pets are stupid because he can't do that.

[Alusdra]

I'm not trying to argue if breeding is right or wrong, just that Animal Planet isn't hypocritical. I agree that breeders at the very rosiest are not helping solve the problem and at worst are causing it, but I don't think that a strictly no-breeding stance is absolutely necessary for a pro-rescue stance. The issue is more complex. I would say that it's pretty well seen in that people aren't saying "boycott Animal Planet" but rather "isn't it a shame Animal Planet made this mistake?"

[Tulia&Susie]

I heard bout the singing guineapig and ya not good at all. But ya for animal planet I enjoy watching the Animals Cops one.

[MissCin]

Animal cops makes me sad, but it feels so good when the bad person get's punished!

[mommyoffive]

I love watching animals cops because I want to become one one day...or at least work in a shelter. I dont care if I have to move to houston or new york city!

[Fluffy_Guinea]

I love watching animals cops because I want to become one one day...or at least work in a shelter. I dont care if I have to move to houston or new york city!

Ditto I want to become one too or like you said work at a shelter and I don't care if I have to move to huston or new york. I'm working as hard as I can to help animals now but I'm trying to figure out how. Anyway yeah I saw the singing guinea pigs it's sickening that they actually gave that kid a good score. I do however enjoy a lot of shows on animal planet and avoid the ones about breeding. Showing wouldn't bother me if the people who showed didn't get an animal from a breeder or breeds. Oh and I've seen the roar thing it's great that they're promoting spaying and neutering but it's a bit hypcritical if they are shows on there that have breeding or showing.

[Mommy Of One]

Well my career plan is to go to a university to become a vet tech, and do that for ten, 15 years, then I would like to work in a shelter after that.

[AnimalFarm2006]

Originally Posted by Mommy Of One

I only watch the program for animal cops. I havn't seen the singing guinea pigs but have heard about it. I don't like Pet Star. I just don't like the idea of animals being 'shown' like that. Also, this makes some people think, I want my dog/cat/horse/whatever to do that and if they don't, they abuse there animal.Or people think their pets are stupid because he can't do that.

Qustion- Whats so wrong about teaching an animal that kind of trick? I know alot of people are idiots, but alot of the people on the animal star realy love there animals! What about the guy that juggled and did a skit with the dogs doing little tricks? There was also one guy who was playing with the dog, rolling over and the dog jumping over him. There was no training for that. And the man with the little seal? It was rescued as a baby and seems to be very happy. I thought petstar was alright but didn't find much time to watch it.
I also taught my hamsters to do a domino act thing with treats after watching the first show. It brought us closser because I could reward them by hand feeding a treat. Acualy, It wassn't teaching because they realy just did it themselves once they saw they could get a treat. they didn't seem to mind climbing up a barbie slide to get the seed of two that caused the first domino to slide into a second knocking a couple untill it opened up one of thoes little little cages and the second hamster would go get his treat and knock down the last set of dominos. Is that cruel? I didn't do the trick but twice to show my parents and my freind, and afterward i rewarded my boys with exstra treats. )( Yes, they acualy went and got the treats once let go. Hammy and his son kenshin. )(

I understand how you might be mad at the people that yell at the dog once it dossn't do the trick right but wouldn't the dogs coward after the end of the show instead of runing to the people, or waging there tail and such?

I don't want to be smart or anything but try not to be negative all the time. Thats all I realy see on this forum. Yes talk about what people do, but talk about what COULD be done.Tis the reason why I want to become a rescue for ALL animals. I want to be one of thoes people that take a guinea pig to school to show the kids how to properly pet, and hold the animal.

One other thing! sorry just trying to speak my mind. About petshops and such. Even if we stop buying animals there. than there will be even more animals out in the shelters because stupid people take them in. If i HAVE HAVE to, I will buy a guinea pig from a shelter. There are lots of people out there like you that will take in alot of the guinea pigs, and I will try my hardest to rescue one but I won't feel bad for rescueing one from a petshop, etc. I'ld rather buy it than let some idiot buy it and have it and maybe even its babbys in the shelter next month. don't get me wrong tho, I cheer for you guys for saving guineas and i realy realy dislike petshops unless they only adolpt out pets, and sell the products.
)( Hey! someone should make a shop that sells products and adolpts out guineas!!! They do that for cats and dogs, why not other animals? )(

Oh! Speaking of schools. If I even worked in a school, I WOULD have a class pet. I would make a list of different animals in the shelter and let the kids pick which one they would like to have. Than I would take it in and teach the kids how to realy take care of the children. It's all about how the children are raised.

Now, Please don't get me wrong. I realy like this forum and you guys. You've made re realize the needs for my boy and my two bunnys after i kinda got laid back on them but just please be nicer and balance your negativity out with the good.

Asria

Ps- I'm geting my suplies ether on black friday or turkey day! Hooray for me building Cinnis new cage! Also, wish me luck on finding a second male for cinni, and finding a job! I'm aiming to be a helper at the vet down the road.